Customer Spotlight: Buckle Me Baby - Print designs for PJs

Over the years we worked with a couple of trailblazers but when we got an email from Dahlia explaining what kind of product she created we got so excited to jump in and create some prints for her.  

Her story all began while raising her three kids and struggling to get them into their car seats during the colder season. With their coats to be too puffy they were not safe to keep on. But those cold rides were no fun for her kids either. Safety shouldn’t be a struggle, and she created the perfect coat for kids that could be kept on safely in those car seats. From 2016 to 2020 she developed her product got it tested and approved. And in 2020 she appeared on Shark Tank giving her that boost to keep going and create some real magic.

We love her Buckle Me Baby Coats, and we are so honored to be part of her creative journey. It’s where solving a problem and making something easier truly is a form of art. My designer hearts sure loves what she makes! If only all products put on this planet made this much sense. In her shop she also has other pieces of clothing for little ones and for her Pyjama Collection she used some Little Smilemakers print designs we really want to show you. We love the finished pieces. They turned out cute right?

Dahlia licensed our designs non-eclusively but she does have an extended license with exclusivity to her branch. With the Premium license you can use our ready-made designs and keep them unique to your company without breaking the bank. Need some prints for your products too? You can find more info about using our designs and our licensing options on our website.

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // Top 5 April 2018

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection of design or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

If you browse around on Etsy or Instagram for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives that use our fabrics have a small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. But there are also some bigger fish out their using our Spoonflower designs for their business. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from Latvia, Poland, the States and France. This month we selected a whole bunch of favorite fabrics turned into the most gorgeous items. Kids fashion, nursery accessories and home and interior decoration, so much to choose from! We have selected a cool cute abstract rompers, some on trend kids bedding and some other fashion items you’re going to love! Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too. Have a look and enjoy our April selection.

1 // Wuf Kids // Baby Teethers & Fashion Accessories
This Latvian shop has some cool things to offer. We love their range of leggings and we adore their fun little hedgehog fabric teethers. So clever! But they have lot’s more cute things to choose from. And lot’s of Little Smilemakers designs! Triangles, flamingo’s, teepees, ice cream cones, grizzly bears, and our minty feathers of course. I bet we forgot to mention some other designs but take a look at their Facebook page and see them all!



2 // Milutka // Bedding & outdoor accessories
Milutka is a company specialized in kids cottons. From soft winter hats to mommy hand warmers, pillows, soft toys and stroller gear, if you'd like to have one print for your entire nursery and kids outdoor gear go visit their online shop. They have our cute little raccoon cactus print in their collection but also our colorful pirates, elephants, squirrels, dachshund puppy, plus sign and owl prints. And last but not least: They have a great selection of kids bedding in all those prints mentioned above. Take a look!

3 // Woodbean // Baby Rompers
If you are looking for some unique snuggle wear for your little one this shop is the place to be. Lisa, who is based in Minnesota, creates the most wonderful soft pieces for your little one and we love her style of mixing and matching prints and uni’s. Her style is like no other and we wanted to share one of her custom made orders with you for which she has used our Abstract Bubble design. These soft little rompers are just to die for. We love how Lisa mixed the print with the contrasting earth tones. Check out her Etsy shop where you can see her wonderful collection in a series of beautiful, soft photography. Check out all her wonderful handmade creations.

4 // Pistol & Arrow // Leotards
We just adore the ice cream leotard made by Brittany Kleiss who runs her small Pistol & Arrow Etsy shop from Fair Oaks. The ice cream print has been around for a while but we found this adorable baby girl in her leo a few weeks ago. Since we have a little bit of a girly theme this month this webshop is def worth a visit. She has some adorable items for your little girl. So go take a look.

5 // Ty Mom Studio // Kids Fashion
Charlene is based in Paris and has a great eye for thinking in collections. Her fabric choices have a steady ‘feel.’ She has a fun collection of on trend gender neutral fabrics and she is working on a big collection for her webshop launch. Even though her webshop is not quite open yet, we wanted to share some of her cute pineapple and cacti leggings and those gender neutral rompers with you. For now you will have to try and have a little more patience until she opens up her shop you can follow her on Instagram. I already have my eye on these cool cacti leggings. Click here is you want to follow this brand new small business.

New collection: Recharge // Botanical Pop // New fabric and Wallpaper & Art License available // Tropical destinations turned into a new colorful collection of surface pattern designs

Spring is such an inspiring time of the year. I live in a four season country and even though I am an autumn child I do prefer the warmer seasons. Actually the only season I do not like is winter. But the cold comes with crisp clean, sober ease as well. Anyway back to spring. Where the flowers blossom and the trees turn green again. The time of the year to release a whole bunch of new tropical print designs.

During the winter I usually travel to a tropical country. I go somewhere lush and warm. I have visit Indonesia, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, all during Dutch wintertime. And past winter I traveled through Vietnam, where I got the botanical buzz. When I got back home early January I just had to sit down and create. Make a new series of botanical prints. And this time with a strong palette of colors that pop. Usually I just don’t have enough time and sit down and make an entire new collection when I get back in the studio after my month long winter break. It is all about responding to new emails, picking up new custom work for clients. But this time I just needed to create, I put all my inspiration, everything collected from those tropical destinations into the new tropical series. With as always a little touch of childhood.

We now have some gender neutral botanical pop garden prints available on fabric but we also added some kids themes, dinosaurs, flamingo’s to cover our tiniest target group too. Curious to see all prints? Check out our Spoonflower shop and enjoy the entire new collection! If you are interested in licensing one of these new designs, or any other print designs you see pop up in our social media posts and online shops. Please reach out and send us an email for more information about using our designs for your products.

How to take care of your Spoonflower fabrics // soft and gentle care

3 Tips for prepping your Spoonflower fabrics

1 // Wash your cotton or polyester fabric before use. Unfold your fabric and wash with a phosphate-free detergent in cool or warm water using a gentle or delicate machine cycle. Wash separately or with like colors for best results. Use of phosphates in detergent is highly regulated in the USA and many other countries and is relatively uncommon. However, we encourage you to double-check your detergent prior to use.
2 // Special note for cotton fabrics: As these fabrics are surface printed with water-based inks, there is a chance of some fading (especially on darker colors.) Front loading washers are the worst offenders due to increased tumbling action during cleaning. Fading can be minimized through the use of cool water and gentle wash cycles.
3 // Tumble dry before use. Indulge your fabric in a cozy tumble dry on a low temperature.


3 Tips for ironing Spoonflower fabrics

1 // Cotton fabrics: Iron our 100% cotton fabrics using standard settings for cotton. Always iron with the printed side down for best results. Steam may be used to remove wrinkles. You'll want to avoid spraying the fabric with a water bottle while ironing because this can lead to unexpected staining.
2 // Special note for Linen Cotton Canvas Ultra: High temperature settings may cause discoloration or crushing of linen, so we recommend you use synthetic settings and a light touch.
3 // Polyester fabrics: These tend to be wrinkle resistant, but if necessary, iron with a light touch on the unprinted side of the fabric using a synthetic setting only. Do be careful with the heat as higher iron temperatures may result in color transfer and, in extreme cases, melting of fabric.

Uitagenda 10 years // Kunsthal Exhibit

Here is a little story about my first steps toward being a designer. When I was a graphic design student I had to do an internship in my third year of studying. And I was the lucky girl that was hired as a graphic intern at one of Rotterdams best theaters. During my time there I worked with just one designer colleague who taught me the technical aspects of prepping work for the printer, checking the press, thinking in concepts, designing new campaigns for cultural festivals. I loved it. Being dropped into this cultural melting pot and working with so many creative people within the theater was amazing and such a good prep for the real deal. I had a shitload of responsibilities as an intern and I love the freedom of it all.

10 years later I bumped into my intern colleague when my college was having an open house and we met up for coffee later. it was so much fun to catch up after all this time and while we were sitting down, discussing all the things that happened in those 10 years he also invited me to participate into a new project. At that time he was working for a cultural magazine that needed a cover for the new cultural season kick off. I created a cover and I also created a bunch of illustrated patterns for their kids section. A year long my work was spread throughout Rotterdam. And as you might know already, I have a soft spot for that city. A great project to work on.

That same magazine is now celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary. And they are properly celebrating! All covers made on those 10 years are now part of a Kunsthal exhibit. Last week was the grand opening during the kick-off of the new cultural season, of course. You can now see a beautiful overview of covers; photography, illustration and typography. A wonderful mix of graphic designers and illustrators who have created something unique. I am pretty ecstatic to be on the Kunsthal wall, one of my all time fave museums, in my fave city.

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // Top 5 // September 2017

We love to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection of design or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

If you browse around on Etsy or Instagram for some kids fashion or home decoration you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the UK, United States, Holland and Australia. This month we selected a our top 5 Spoonflower creations, turned into the most gorgeous items. Kids fashion, nursery accessories and have you seen those cacti swim suits? There was so much to choose from! This is our top 5 September selection.

Wild Child Headbands
Headbands are so handy during those warm summer days, to keep your hair our of you face while doing chores, warm your ears in winter. They come in handy in lot’s of situations and Wild Child has them for all seasons. Beautiful and practical. Wild Child is located in Florida and they do not only sell fun head accessories but they also have some cool jewelry in their shop. We love their fun and stylish photography too. New designs are coming up, but we already wanted to share this dreamcatcher headband with you. Check their website for more fun designs.

Lucie June
This Australian based shop makes vibrant girls clothing, focusing on whimsical individuality, designed to be beautiful and practical for the start of life as a little lady. We love Lucie June and their handmade rompers. And wanted to give them a little extra attention with the warmer season coming up Down Under these are great additions to your little ones spring/summer wardrobe. We love our watercolor cacti print on their handmade pieces. We call it stylish bohemian. Curious about the rest of their collection? Tale a look on their website.



Bean Sprout
Bean Sprout must be one of our favorite webshops using our Spoonflower fabric. Hiedee has a great eye for unique and bespoke designs and we love her style and gorgeous clean photography. Bean Sprout has a pretty big collection of Little Smilemakers fabrics, all turned into the most adorable baby and kids fashion accessories like baby bibs, book bags, summer hats and nappy wallets. For this months post we selected our abstract rain drops print that was turned into a cool boy bib. For this months Made With post we selected one of our favorites: the bunny bookbag. Wanna see more? Take a look into her gorgeous shop for all wonderful handmade creations.

Wildflowers
Early this year Samantha reached out to license some of our prints for her new Wildflowers collection. This September our Sew Happy print was released and their new fall collection was launched. We love how her colorful bohemian style is a great mix and match of patterns and just wanted to share some of the new items in her collection. For the new collection she selected two of our designs. The Sew Happy design that is available on skirts and dresses and our Poppy Flower. Curious to see more? Check their website for the entire collection and stay up to date and follow their blog.

Mistral Home
We love to see our designs in the home. Most of our fabric is being used for clothing and accessories so we wanted to shed a little extra light on this new range of bedding available via Mistral Home. Our Feathers and Reindeer Love were used for their new collection of bedding that is now available in stores in Holland and Belgium. Wanna see more of their items, check out their website.

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // Top 5 // August 2017

We love to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection of design or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

If you browse around on Etsy or Instagram for some kids fashion or home decoration you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the UK, United States, New Zealand and Australia. This month we selected a our top 5 Spoonflower creations, turned into the most gorgeous items. Kids fashion, nursery accessories and have you seen those cacti swim suits? There was so much to choose from! This is our top 5 August selection.

Batoko
The cactus swimsuit is one of Batoko’s hot selling pieces and has been available in their shop for over a year already. They just keep on producing them and they keep running out of these quirky summer beauties. We love this fabulous swimsuit and they now also sell tiny versions for your little ones. And we keep getting cute images showing babies wearing our cacti swimsuit. So cute! So mommy daughter mix and match! Our best selling cactus print is now available again over at Batoko. Wanna look fabulous on the beach? Get yours in the Batoko shop!

Bean Sprout
Bean Sprout must be one of our favorite webshops using our Spoonflower fabric. Hiedee has a great eye for unique and bespoke designs and we love her style and gorgeous clean photography. Bean Sprout has a pretty big collection of Little Smilemakers fabrics, all turned into the most adorable baby and kids fashion accessories like baby bibs, book bags, summer hats and nappy wallets. For this months post we selected our bunny print that was turned into a fun book bag, and we selected some hair ties made from all different left over fabric she uses for her products. Wanna see more? Take a look into her gorgeous shop for all wonderful handmade creations.



Handmade by Monica
Monica’s business is located in London and she currently has a day job to keep up with the rent. However crafting is her passion and she hopes to make it a full-time pursuit one day. She turned a spare room into her workspace. She loves creating unique bunting designs that are quirky, colorful and perfect as a gift or for parties, to brighten up your home. Monica is a big fan of and heavily influenced by all things bright, cute, quirky and fun. With an interest in Japanese culture (Kawaii in particular!) since she was a child. For this months “Made with” we selected her colorful squirrel creation made with our retro animals fabric from Spoonflower. Curious to see more? Check out her fun shop over at Etsy.

Hiku Designs
Aga Wells is a British mum of two and creates modern baby, kids and interior accessories, such as baby bandana bibs, super soft baby blankets, natural wood teethers, fabric toys, kids cushions and luxurious baby gift sets. As a mum, she understands that baby products must not only be super cute but they also need to be practical and safe. Her designs are finished with great care and attention to detail, ensuring that each item will last through many squeezes, cuddles and washes. For this monthly post we selected our ice cream cones, one of many Little Smilemakers designs in her shop. Wanna take a look and see more? Visit her webshop.

Howl and Hound
Our fabric has been used for all sorts of things but seeing these cool dog bandana’s really made our day. We love a stylish pup! And this pet accessory boutique based in Brooklyn, New York made some cool ice-cream bandana's. Looking for some cool pieces to add to your doggies wardrobe? Check out the Howl and Hound webshop.

New Collection // Maxomorra // Fall & Winter '17

Founded in 2008, Maxomorra is a children’s clothing brand from Sweden. Their clothes are characterized by functional design with playful colors and patterns, produced using ecologically and socially responsible textile processes.

The new Autumn Winter ’17 Plus Collection is a new design project, risen from their curiosity to explore Maxomorra outside the box. The new Plus collection contains eight prints in a limited selection of styles, all made by Little Smilemakers Studio. With a few extra details to the prints and a brand new and beautiful color palette. To create complete outfits, there is also a small basic collection with solid colored jersey and velour available. As always, pick your favorites, mix and match, and go out and be fabulous. There are t-shirts, leggings, hats and so much more to choose from. But have some patience, the collection will be released for autumn and isn’t in shops just yet.

Conscious
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) was developed through a collaboration by leading standard setters with the aim of defining requirements that are recognized worldwide and that ensure the organic status of textiles from harvesting raw materials through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing all the way to labelling in order to provide credible assurance to the consumer.
Maxomorra has been using GOTS certified cotton since 2008 and is a GOTS certified brand since 2011. So if you are looking for some new conscious baby and kids items to fill your shop with contact Maxomorra and ask for their new Autumn Winter Plus collection. Here are three of the designs that will be available next fall.

New Collection available // Karla Cola Australia

A few months ago we licensed some of our monochrome designs to Karla who owns a fashion label in Adelaide, Australia. She creates beautiful, vibrant, unique original accessories as well as clothing pieces for woman. And we are so much in love with her tiny boutique we wanted to give her a little shout out.

Karla has a serious eye for style and her shop is filled with wonderful retro style fabric. Large organic shapes, popping colours and basic monochromes set the tone. All mixed with exquisite accessories, making her creations bold and unique. She mixes class and color with confidence and hopefully we’ll be seeing more of our prints in her future collections. I sure love what she has made with our designs so far; tunics, dresses and headscarfs. if you are curious to see all of her fashion pieces click on the link to her shop.

Shop Karla Cola Designs

The man that made me follow my dream and inspired me to do what I am doing today // A short story about an amazing illustrator // Dick Bruna (89) you will be missed

Today we have to say goodbye to the greatest illustrator in Dutch history. To celebrate his life I am posting this old piece about Dick Bruna. Meeting my biggest inspiration. I hereby want to send my condolences to his family and friends. Dick Bruna you will be missed!




I wanted to write about this man for ages but never got around to do so. This summer Dick Bruna decided to stop illustrating and enjoy retirement after 61 years of creating whimsical illustrations. And with his birthday today I thought this would be a great day do drop something about this warm Mister.

For those of you that do not know this man, a little introduction: Dick bruna was the creator of Miffy, the little adventurous bunny little toddlers all over the world get to know during their bedtime stories. But he has also made numerous other books and stories and started his career as a graphic designer.

During my Graphic Design studies we had to interview someone we looked up to. I knew that mister Bruna has had worldwide success with his great Miffy books but I also loved where he came from. A history in book publishing, designing book covers for years, yes I wanted to meet this man.

I wrote him a long letter about how awesome I thought he was. Yes, I felt like a teenage groupie going on 22 back then and I never expected a letter in return. He welcomed me to visit him in his Studio in Utrecht. So I prepared some questions, packed my camera and took a train to his hometown Utrecht to meet him.



When I rang the bell and Dick Bruna opened the door I remembered my first thought was; what a sweet smile, his eyes were twinkling and his mustache made his smile look even bigger. He welcomed me with a big hug and offered to make me some tea. While he was preparing our drinks in his studio kitchen he told me he loved interviews, because inviting people over would give him a good excuse to buy some of his favorite cookies. But why they were all so interested in his story he could not figure out. " I am just a man that has made some books, I am not any more special that a guy on the street."

"If someone takes the effort to sit down and write me a letter, sending a response is the least I can do."

We sat down for a chat and I was caught up in his stories right away. He talked about his daily drawings for his wife before leaving home, how he took his bike to the studio every single day and I loved how he spoke about his fans. Little kids from all around the world sent him little artworks and drawings. Mister Bruna made room in his studio to save each and every single piece that came by mail and told me he sat down to answer all those expressions of admiration, letters, postcards, everyone got a personal thank you from his hand. After all these years, still making time to do so! I was so moved, a man would put so much effort into others.



He showed me his studio. With an impressive bookcase with all his Dutch children's books but also translations of the Miffy books, published all over the world. A little nook to sit in with cushions and kids artwork everywhere. He picked up some artwork "Look what amazing pieces of art. This stencil art was send by a little girl all the way from China, can you believe that?" He opened one of his cabinet drawers and showed me some folders and flyers, some logo designs and magazines that he had worked on. An entire very impressive portfolio was lying there, right in front of me. With his typical colorful illustrations and clean crisp typography. And then I saw his drawing table. His glasses, pencils and a large sketchbook. He told me drawing was not as easy anymore. His hands sometimes were too shaky and it took much more time to drawn clear clean lines like he used to. "But now it is up for your generation, nowadays the industry is much more competitive it must be a lot harder to make ends meet with doing what I do. But remember this, it is possible. If a small man from Utrecht can do it, you definitely can do it too."

It has been a great ride: 120 children's books and a respectable age of 87. Mister Bruna, please enjoy your well deserved retirement. Your work will influence many generations to come. And you have inspired me to follow my heart and take the risk to do what I love. I find myself working in my own studio, just doing what I love and people happen to pick up on my work. Thank you mister Bruna! You are an inspirational man.



If you ever visit Utrecht you can also visit the Miffy Museum: The Dick Bruna House, which is very close to Centraal Museum. It is a great place to visit with kids.

Trend alert: Typography monochromes

Some of you might know that typography can make me happy, I have studied graphic designs and typography before I became a printmaker. So seeing typography pop up as a trend makes me go yay! So happy to see this being picked up.

We wanted to feature some of our monochromes for this month’s trend alert. Raw sketches ABC & numbers designs. We have made a series of back to school prints for fabric and also added some typography designs for postcards and iPhone cases in bright popping colors and of course black and whites. Those simple and elegant black and white fabric designs are perfect for gender neutral clothes and home and nursery accessories. And we see an increase in popularity in on our monochrome designs. So come take a look at our collection.

Fabric featured in this post:
Sketch & Type
Spotted dalmatian
ABC Love
Raw Math
Strong Alphabet
Number Love

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // Top 5 December 2016

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection of design or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.  

If you browse around on Etsy or Instagram for some kids fashion or home decoration you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the US, Australia and India. This month we selected a whole bunch of winter and seasonal inspired fabrics, turned into the most gorgeous items. Kids fashion, nursery accessories and home and interior decoration, so much to choose from! We have selected some cute tote bags, leggings and soft sole shoes. Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too. This is our December top 5 selection. 

1 // Daily Objects 
Next to phone accessories, laptop cases and notebooks, Daily Objects now also launched a new collection of tote bags and pouches in different sizes with beautiful high quality leather detailing. We love those new totes! They make a perfect gift for Christmas. In Holland they have banned plastic bags, a cool shopper is a must. They also added some cool home decor to their range of products. Our prints are now also available on pillows. Oh yes and of course Daily Objects offers world wide shipping on their products too. Click here for their collection.

2 // Le Petit Bouton 
Lisa Gillies a young mum and the owner of Le Petit Bouton. Like many new mums, she was madly searching for items for her little girl that were unique, on trend, and made with beautiful fabric and she was getting frustrated at not being able to find exactly what she wanted. That is why she decided to start her fun shop, stocking gorgeous little girls hair clips, hair ties and headbands using beautiful designer fabrics and organic knits. Our little reindeer girls have also been added to her webshop for this holiday season. Her products are perfect for special occasions, party favors, birthdays, baby showers, new arrivals, school, stocking fillers...the list goes on! Baby skyler is modeling her fun products. Such a cute little girl! Take a look at her shop if you want to get your hands on one. 

3 // Olive the Things 
For our seasonal ‘Made with’ post we selected a cute reindeer sweater. One our our personal favorites for this jolly season. This Utah based shop offers a great selection of soft sweaters, hoodies, shorts and other cool kids items. of you are looking for some cozy pieces for your little one, this is the place. take a look at their Etsy shop and check all fun mix & match pieces.



4 // Hazel & Holly 
We love these cute Origami Santa leggings. Perfect leggings for the holiday season right? And suitable for both boys and girls. This Washington based shop offers handmade kids clothes has a wonderful collection of seasonal fashion for kids. We have created some new Christmas themes that were selected for her new range. Leggings, skirts, beanies. Check them all in her Etsy shop.

5 // Little Pitterpat 
Every month a new set of soft soles pops up in our feed. Little Pitterpat has been using our designs for over two years now and we keep loving the way our fabrics are turned into the most adorable baby and toddler shoes. These soft soles baby shoes are made by hand in Sharies studio in Montana. For this months 'Made with' post we selected their Grizzly Bear Ski Slope print. One of our fave designs suitable for both boys and girls and we know how handy those gender neutral items can be. Looking for a baby shower gift? These cute shoes make a great present. So take a look into her shop if you want to have a pair of these. She has over 500 different items, yes lot's of different prints as well, to choose from. 

Sinterklaas & Zwarte Piet // Dutch Holiday season start // Kleurplaat & Kijkdoos

For non-Dutchies this might be a little bit of a strange post. Each year The Netherlands celebrates Sinterklaas the first week of December. It is quite similar to the well known Santa tradition in the US but our old white-bearded man comes from a typical Dutch heritage. He arrives on a boat with a dozen helpers that come and turn the dark November month into a sweet candy filled mayhem. Like Santa fills socks, Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Piet fills kids shoes with presents and candy.

Each year we try to create a cool freebie around this traditional Dutch holiday. This time of the year we need some cool crafty projects to work on while it is pouring out go sit down and have a nice crafty afternoon with your kids. This year we have a fun project to work on. A Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pier themed set of drawings your kids can color, cut and paste into their Sinterklaas paper Peepshow. Click on the image below and save the file to your desktop. Don't forget to send us your results!

This crafting set was originally made by me around 10 years ago for H&M Holland when I was still working for a design company that was hired to do all H&M's graphic design in The Netherlands. The original illustrations were made for them and this crafting project was a free giveaway they handed out to mommies and daddies shopping for their youngsters.

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // May 2016

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

If you browse around on Etsy for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the USA, UK, Holland and Sweden. This month we selected a whole bunch of summer fashion themes. We have some tropical birds and leaves, some watercolors. Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too. This is our May top 5.

Sew Kuddly Clothing
We are obsessed with this small UK kids shop. Not only because they have tons of products with our prints and we love their finished items but they also have some adorable photography, some cute tiny models that show off their headbands, leggings, headbands and other cool items they sell in their Etsy shop. For Hemmers/Itex we have made an exclusive series of designs and our new origami fabrics are turned into cute baby and toddler items. Our favorites: Birds and crocs are now available in their shop! So need anything for you boy or girl. Look no further. And support this super cool small business.

Yeti Feet & Co.
We love those cute and comfy moccs. They are perfect for our little ones tiny feet and these printed shoes made by McKayla Nelson are part of her new Arizona collection with cactuses, dreamcatchers and animals. She is a big fan of cactuses but she also has some of our other designs in her collection of soft soles. They make a perfect gift to a baby shower or kids birthday. These cactus shoes and more are available in her shop. Go check out her Etsy shop!



MommaMakes
By using mostly gender neutral prints for their range of clothes and accessories this small UK based shop is a great place for some one-of-a-kind pieces for your kids. Of course there are some boys and girls themes too but we love their eye for pure and simple gender neutral designs like the one they used for these cute parrot leggings. Check out the shop for more Little Smilemakers prints, they also have our mermaids and some cool abstracts.

Made4Ukkies
This Dutch company has some cool handmade new born and infant items. We licensed some designs to Hemmers/Itex and Staghorn this winter and now we see the finished results pop up on our feed. We love the colorful range of spring and summer clothes this small shop has to offer. They also have our cool bears up there and our feathers are also represented. Go check them out.

Lilla Busfro
This Swedish shop is run by Carin and we love her trendy collection of prints she uses for her handmade kids collection. She turned our feathers and plus sign fabric into some adorable leggings, t-shirts and hats that are available in her shop.

We love to see your finished results too. Even if you don't have a shop but make something gorgeous for yourself or as a gift, tag us via Facebook or Instagram and maybe you will be featured in our monthly "Made with" post.

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // March 2016

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

If you browse around on Etsy for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the USA, Holland and Poland. This is our new girly themed March selection. Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too.

Kalamati
This winter we finalized a new series of designs for Kalamati, a Polish home decor brand for kids. The new range has some cute Scandinavian style hot air balloons in soft pastel colors, bubbles in gender neutral color schemes and also this cute abstract woodland garden theme. We love Kalamati's bedding, blankets and home decor items. If you would like to order one of these cute blankets or any other Little Smilemakers prints check out the Kalamati shop!

Ansje Handmade
A few weeks ago Anouck was part of a photo series for new borns with down syndrome. For the photo shoot she made outfits for these adorable new borns, for that she used some of our new prints from the Hemmers/Itex collection we launched end of January. Anouck runs a webshop with handmade nursery gifts and fun whimsical fashion. She also sells original Little Smilemakers patchwork blankets, made with our Spoonflower sample leftovers. If you are curious about her work and want to check out her shop go to her website or follow here at Instagram @ansjehandmade

Pistol & Arrow
We just adore the ice cream leotard made by Brittany Kleiss who runs her small
Pistol & Arrow Etsy shop from Fair Oaks. The ice cream print has been around for a while but we found this adorable baby girl in her leo a few weeks ago. Since we have a little bit of a girly theme this month this webshop is def worth a visit. She has some adorable items for your little girl. So go take a look.

Top Knot Bands
Headbands, bowbands, turbands for babies, women's accessories, leggings. This shop is the perfect place to look for some cool nursery gifts. We loved our matching cupcake fabric shorts and headband. Such a cute combo for summer. They also have some cute Little Smilemakers Penguin leggings available in the shop. So browse around and enjoy their colorful collection.

Sinterklaas // Dutch Holiday season start // Kleurplaat & Kijkdoos

So yes, for non-Dutchies this might be a little bit of a strange post. Each year we celebrate Sinterklaas the first week of December. It is quite similar to the well know Santa tradition but our old white bearded man comes from a typical Dutch heritage. He arrives on a boat with a dozen of helpers and turn the dark November month into a sweet candy filled mayhem.

Each year we try to create a cool freebie around this traditional Dutch holiday. This year we have a fun project to work on. A Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pier themed set of drawings your kids can color, cut and paste into their Sinterklaas paper Peepshow. Click on the image and save the file to your desktop. Don't forget to send us your results!

This crafting set was originally made around 10 years ago for H&M Holland when I was still working for a design company that was hired to do H&M's graphic design in The Netherlands.

Exciting news // The Junior Design Awards

Great news! We work for some amazing clients all over the world. We make prints for young adult fabric collections. Home decor items and of course we make lot's of designs for little ones. We are very excited to see that Bambino Mio's miosolo all-in-one nappies have been shortlisted in UK's The Junior Design Awards!

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // October 2015

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection or a series of illustrations and surface patterns for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.

Here is our monthly blog post featuring some creative results from Canada, Australia and Russia. This is our new September selection. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. If you browse around on Etsy for some kids fashion you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their finished fashion and home decor projects via Etsy. So take a look and see if there is something for your little one too and support these small business owners.

Meet the adorable Archie
Meet Archie, the newest member of the owl tribe. Don't you love this teepee cactus woodland print? This cuddly owl was made by Andrea who owns the All Things Owls Big Cartel shop where she sells her cute cuddly owls and fun kids fashion pieces. She also attends local markets so if you are living in Australia, I know, it is huge, check dates and locations where she will be selling her owls on her Facebook page. Take a look in her webshop, maybe you can find something for your little one! There are also some more Little Smilemakers prints on there.

Flamingo's and palm trees
We love to see how carefully picked fabrics are turned into pieces of fashion and home decor. These flamingo's we have never seen a finished item of so we were so happy to see Ollie & Mojo's cute Flamingo range of baby and toddler items and when we looked on their Facebook page we noticed another summer hot seller: Our cool palm tree print. Such a cute combo! Ollie & Mojo has a fun whimsical organic baby and kids range. A mixture of trendy, alternative clothing and accessories to make your Kids stand out from the crowd! So take a look in the shop!

Fun New York City and Penguin tea towels
Ryaabaa Kokoko is a Russian company run by Vika that creates the most adorable little long sleeved t-shirts, leggings, blankets, tea towels and PJ's from our less trending designs. She has an eye for colorful and fun and just-a-little-different prints and her shop is such a delight. These tea towels would throw a party in your kitchen when you're not looking! You can follow her Instagram account and watch all her creative projects.

Fresh geometrics and Scandinavian style kids fashion at Kewe Clothing
This Canadian company provides easy to style clothing and complementary accessories for the tiny trend setters in your life. Their soft, breathable organic and bamboo fabrics are printed in small batches with water based inks to ensure premium quality while leaving them safe against baby’s delicate skin and for the environment. Handcrafted in beautiful British Columbia Canada, each piece is as comfortable and functional as it is fashionable. We found some of Little Smilemakers geometric triangles and pink diamond fabric used in their new kids collection when a customer tagged us on Instagram. Roam around on their website and check out all cute t-shirts, leggings, bibs and more.



Whimsical foxes for your kids interior
You might know My Little Hands by now, an Australian based company we have created several designs for. The company is run by the gorgeous Emma. She has a heart for true designs and asked me to create a range of products for her shop. We started out with a series around the water colored foxes. A cute simple repeat of these yellow creatures is now available on cute blankets and other MLH items. Since the shop is growing rapidly Emma has taken a new approach to her business and rebranded her My Little Hands shop that is now named My Little Organics. With a new logo and new designs we wish here all the best!

Little Smilemakers Studio in Stella Magazine // June 2015

Have you seen this months issue of Stella Magazine? We are proud to say we are featured on there Inspiration page. Stella is a thinking woman's magazine from the Pacific Islands. The magazine celebrates the indigenous voice of Pacific Islanders covering fashion, health, travel, arts, and life across our region. Following publishing trends from across the globe, Stella shares uplifting stories across the region in all walks of life. Challenging stereotypes and share good ideas. This modern magazine is an exciting platform for the creative talents of the Pacific region, by the people, for the people. We are proud to be featured in there.

Want to be inspired by us too? Follow us on Instagram Click here and stay in touch!

Happy birthday Dick Bruna // The man that made me follow my dream and inspired me to do what I am doing today // A short story about an amazing illustrator

I wanted to write about this man for ages but never got around to do so. This summer Dick Bruna decided to stop illustrating and enjoy retirement after 61 years of creating whimsical illustrations. And with his birthday today I thought this would be a great day do drop something about this warm Mister.



For those of you that do not know this man, a little introduction: Dick bruna was the creator of Miffy, the little adventurous bunny little toddlers all over the world get to know during their bedtime stories. But he has also made numerous other books and stories and started his career as a graphic designer.

During my Graphic Design studies we had to interview someone we looked up to. I knew that mister Bruna has had worldwide success with his great Miffy books but I also loved where he came from. A history in book publishing, designing book covers for years, yes I wanted to meet this man.

I wrote him a long letter about how awesome I thought he was. Yes, I felt like a teenage groupie going on 22 back then and I never expected a letter in return. He welcomed me to visit him in his Studio in Utrecht. So I prepared some questions, packed my camera and took a train to his hometown Utrecht to meet him.



When I rang the bell and Dick Bruna opened the door I remembered my first thought was; what a sweet smile, his eyes were twinkling and his mustache made his smile look even bigger. He welcomed me with a big hug and offered to make me some tea. While he was preparing our drinks in his studio kitchen he told me he loved interviews, because inviting people over would give him a good excuse to buy some of his favorite cookies. But why they were all so interested in his story he could not figure out. " I am just a man that has made some books, I am not any more special that a guy on the street."

"If someone takes the effort to sit down and write me a letter, sending a responds is the least I can do."

We sat down for a chat and I was caught up in his stories right away. He talked about his daily drawings for his wife before leaving home, how he took his bike to the studio every single day and I loved how he spoke about his fans. Little kids from all around the world sent him little artworks and drawings. Mister Bruna made room in his studio to save each and every single piece that came by mail and told me he sat down to answer all those expressions of admiration, letters, postcards, everyone got a personal thank you from his hand. After all these years, still making time to do so! I was so moved, a man would put so much effort into others.



He showed me his studio. With an impressive bookcase with all his Dutch children's books but also translations of the Miffy books, published all over the world. A little nook to sit in with cushions and kids artwork everywhere. He picked up some artwork "Look what amazing pieces of art. This stencil art was send by a little girl all the way from China, can you believe that?" He opened one of his cabinet drawers and showed me some folders and flyers, some logo designs and magazines that he had worked on. An entire very impressive portfolio was lying there, right in front of me. With his typical colorful illustrations and clean crisp typography. And then I saw his drawing table. His glasses, pencils and a large sketchbook. He told me drawing was not as easy anymore. His hands sometimes were too shaky and it took much more time to drawn clear clean lines like he used to. "But now it is up for your generation, nowadays the industry is much more competitive it must be a lot harder to make ends meet with doing what I do. But remember this, it is possible. If a small man from Utrecht can do it, you definitely can do it too."

It has been a great ride: 120 children's books and a respectable age of 87. Mister Bruna, please enjoy your well deserved retirement. Your work will influence many generations to come. And you have inspired me to follow my heart and take the risk to do what I love. I find myself working in my own studio, just doing what I love and people happen to pick up on my work. Thank you mister Bruna! You are an inspirational man.

If you ever visit Utrecht you can also visit the Miffy Museum: The Dick Bruna House, which is very close to Centraal Museum. It is a great place to visit with kids.